Open Access“THER IS A VERY INSISTENT NOISE FROM THE MACHINES IN HERE”: Theorizing Digital Media through Greg Curnoe’s Computer Journals
Author(s) -
Mark Hayward,
Henry Adam Svec
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
canadian journal of communication
Language(s) - French
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.343
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 1499-6642
pISSN - 0705-3657
DOI - 10.22230/cjc.2020v45n1a3419
Subject(s) - creativity , agency (philosophy) , situated , digital media , digital culture , sociology , power (physics) , digital computer , new media , composition (language) , relation (database) , media studies , social science , computer science , art , literature , political science , law , world wide web , artificial intelligence , computer engineering , physics , quantum mechanics , database
Background This article explores the Canadian artist Greg Curnoe’s experiments with computer-based composition with an emphasis on the Computer Journals project (1969–1971). The Computer Journals project is situated in relation to the art scene in London, Ontario, the development of computer art during the late 1960s, and contemporary theories of technology and culture.Analysis It is argued that the project elaborates an innovative analysis of the relationship between technology and creativity that offers a critical understanding of power, agency, and expression.Conclusion and implications It is suggested that a return to Curnoe’s computer based work offers an alternative to dominant schools of media theory and the philosophy of technology in Canada during the second half of the twentieth century, as well as anticipating contemporary discussions of digital media and creativity.Contexte Cet article explore les expériences de composition par ordinateur faites par l’artiste canadien Greg Curnoe en mettant un accent particulier sur le Computer Journals Project (1969–1971) de ce dernier. L’article situe ce projet par rapport au milieu artistique de London, Ontario, au développement de l’art informatique pendant les années 1960 et aux théories contemporaines sur la technologie et la culture.Analyse L’article soutient que le projet de Curnoe élabore une analyse innovante du rapport entre technologie et créativité, offrant par la même une compréhension critique du pouvoir, de l’agentivité et de l’expression.Conclusion et implications L’article propose que le travail informatique de Curnoe offre une alternative aux écoles dominantes de théorie des médias et de philosophie de la technologie au Canada durant la seconde moitié du vingtième siècle tout en anticipant des discussions contemporaines sur les médias numériques et la créativité.